Funny Pics from Pakistan

Assange life story at theatre in Australia

 

SYDNEY: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will have his life story immortalised in a stage play in his home country of Australia, a report said Sunday.

Rehearsals are due to start this week for "Stainless Steel Rat" by award-winning Melbourne playwright Ron Elisha, which will tell the story of a director making a film of Assange's life.

Key players in the Wikileaks drama, including US President Barack Obama and the Swedish woman who has accused Assange of sexual misconduct, will be depicted, the Sun-Herald said.

The newspaper called it the world's first "wikiplay", opening in Sydney ahead of several Hollywood films which are reportedly in the pipeline.

Director Wayne Harrison said it would be "quirky, funny and controversial".

"This is a compelling story of an Australian who is changing the world right now. It can't wait. It has to be produced as quickly as possible," he said.

Local actor Darren Weller will play Assange, head of the whistleblowing website that has published thousands of cables in which US diplomats give their often candid views on world leaders, to Washington's acute embarrassment.

It has also leaked countless secret documents about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. (AFP)

Popular Cannes film reflects 'Arab Spring' spirit

 

CANNES: A film about a woman taking a stand against men in a North African village won cheers in Cannes Saturday, with some viewers moved by its expression of the spirit of the "Arab Spring" uprisings.

A small handful of critics also booed during the packed screening of "The Source," directed by Radu Mihaileanu, later telling journalists they found its depiction of Arab life over simplistic.

But the overwhelming majority of critics in the audience praised its resonance with real-life events, saying they would not be surprised to see it scoop a big prize at the annual film festival.

The Source was the last of 20 films shown in the festival's main competition ahead of the closing ceremony Sunday where the awards will be announced including the Palme d'Or for best picture.

Also premiered Saturday was "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia," a slow-paced, subtle examination of cruelty and betrayal by Nuri Bilge Ceylan.

The Source opens by declaring itself a fairytale in which Leila, the beautiful and feisty wife of teacher Sami, declares a "love strike," or ban on all sex, until the men in her village agree to carry the water from a spring high in the mountains.

In a time of economic hardship and unemployment, men sit and sip tea all day while women lug heavy loads up steep paths.

Leila decides to take a stand when her friend falls and loses her baby.

Men and women fall out, with violent consequences. Women bicker about the value of tradition over change while conservative clerics try to exploit the village's divisions.

"NEED FOR MORE REVOLUTIONS"

Mihaileanu, a Romanian-born French director, told a news conference in Cannes that the film was partly a reflection of the recent uprisings in Tunisia and across the Arab world.

"There has been tremendous hope since last December. There is hope for freedom and a strong desire to get rid of those in power and there is the idea of people deciding their own destiny," he said.

He added that revolution on the streets of Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and Bahrain had yet to be matched by a change in people's homes.

"There is a second revolution which is essential, which is the revolution in the home, and the place of women in the family. Women should be made equals at home as well."

The director, who is Jewish, said the idea for the film came from a true story in Turkey.

Leila leads the battle in the village, confronting the village imam and quoting from the Koran in defense of her case.

She is defended by one of the film's most colorful characters -- Mother Rifle, whose words are "like bullets," played by Algerian actress Biyouna.

Turkish entry One Upon a Time in Anatolia follows a group of police officers and a doctor as they look for the corpse of a murder victim buried in the countryside.

Light on plot, it has nonetheless won over critics with its craftsmanship. (Reuters)

Twitter a ‘waste of time’ says Fergie

Wayne Rooney's Twitter page.

MANCHESTER: Sir Alex Ferguson has joined the debate about footballers’ use of the social networking Twitter site by branding it “a waste of time”.

The veteran Manchester United manager was speaking at the end of a week in which his club’s high-profile forward Wayne Rooney attracted unwanted headlines for an online dispute with one follower.
Rooney was also embroiled in a spat with the broadcaster Piers Morgan, an ardent Arsenal supporter.
Earlier this season, United midfielder Darron Gibson opened a Twitter account only to close it within minutes after he received a large amount of abuse from his own club’s supporters.
After Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger warned his players of the potential “negative repercussions” involved with the use of Twitter this week, Ferguson is also conscious of the problems involved with such exposure.
“It’s about responsibility,” said Ferguson, 69. “I think they (players) are responsible for their actions, what they say on Twitter.
“I don’t understand it, to be honest with you. I don’t have the time to do it. There are a million things you can do with your life other than that. Go to a library and read a book. I’m serious. What a waste of time.
“But they seem to have a certain momentum at the moment. Everyone seems to want to do it.
“I don’t understand it but it is something that we, as a club, are looking at because there can be issues attached to it and we don’t want that.”
Wenger had claimed that Twitter could be a positive phenomenon for high-profile players as it allows them to keep in touch with true fans – an argument with which Ferguson does not agree.
“It’s better if you just play well on the pitch,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ferguson revealed he is still hopeful that Paul Scholes will continue his career beyond next weekend’s Champions League Final against Barcelona.
Scholes, 36, is out of contract this summer and there is a strong school of thought that he will retire, meaning this weekend’s game against Blackpool may prove to have been his last at Old Trafford.
“I don’t think so,” said Ferguson of that prospect.
“We will discuss it and, hopefully, encourage him to stay on another year. We will talk at the end of the year.”

Obama’s Revenge

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